To get profit without risk, experience without danger, and reward without work is as impossible as it is to live without being born. Succinctly, there is no success without sacrifice. But is sacrifice bad? Like many words, the word “sacrifice” is misunderstood. To most people, sacrifice means giving up time or money, or enduring hardships, or doing something unpleasant. Now, it is true that sacrifice may mean those things. But that is only half the definition. The other part of the definition, the one that is almost always overlooked, is to gain something even more valuable.

The complete definition of sacrifice is give up something of value – money, time, or energy – to gain something of even more value – more money, a higher standard of living, better education for the kids, or other valuable considerations. Sacrifice means give up a little now to receive more later.

Sacrificing then means investing. We give up something today so we will have more of something tomorrow. Anyone who wants to achieve maximum success must be willing to sacrifice or invest now for reward later. To validate this point, consider the following:

A majority of people reaching age 65 have little savings, investments, or other valuables – this after spending 45 adult years in the richest society ever known. Had these people in poverty and near-poverty invested only ten percent of what they had earned in one of hundreds of “sure” investments, they would be very well off financially, and the social security system could be phased out completely.

Many young people feel that 35 0r 40 hours a week is all they should work. Being asked to work more than that is such a “big” sacrifice, many try to find another job.

Millions of people performing tasks that are rapidly being taken over by robots and computers think it’s too much of a sacrifice to learn new skills that are increasingly in demand.

Rather than invest part of what they earn, millions and millions of people give way to temptation and buy things on a certain plan.

And millions of students, rather than sacrifice and really learn a subject, use every conceivable technique to pass a course except to learn the material.

On the positive side, there are some people of all ages to be commended for their willingness – and good sense – to sacrifice. Sacrifice is an investment that means more than just money. Sacrifice means deep satisfaction in helping others to find joy in this world.

Happiness, achievement, money, promotion, reward, love, and anything else of value are gained only through sacrifice. Make sacrifices. They eventually lead to success.

My Consultancy–Asif J. Mir – Management Consultant–transforms organizations where people have the freedom to be creative, a place that brings out the best in everybody–an open, fair place where people have a sense that what they do matters. For details please visit www.asifjmir.com, and my Lectures.

It’s easy to dismiss someone else’s achievements with he or she “was lucky,” “had superior athletic ability,” “was born a genius,” “got in on the ground floor,” or, in some way, lucked into success.

But success, wealth, and happiness do not come from luck. All accomplishments stem from dreams courageous people convert into reality. The great structures we work in, the agricultural enterprises that feed us, the industries that entertain us, in the institutions that educate and inspire evolved from the ideas and dreams of productive individuals.

When you see a successful business, school, entertainment, or political institution, you are looking at an individual’s dream grown into reality. A happy family is made possible through creative dreaming.

Think of life as a garden.

Successful people are individuals who convert their dreams into services and products other people desire.

Growing a dream into success is like growing a garden. Six steps are involved:

Select your dream seed.

Prepare your mind to accept the seed.

Plant your dream seed.

Nourish your dream.

Focus your energy. Put “I will” to work.

Hire time to work for you.

My Consultancy–Asif J. Mir – Management Consultant–transforms organizations where people have the freedom to be creative, a place that brings out the best in everybody–an open, fair place where people have a sense that what they do matters. For details please visit www.asifjmir.com, and my Lectures.

With all the apptitudes, skills, and traits for which managers can test applicants, there is still one thing that’s usually not tested for but that perhaps should be—at least if some recent research findings are valid. Particularly in companies being rocked by downsizings and competitive pressures, there’s something to be said about hiring people who are inclined to remain happy even in the face of unhappy events.

Basically, happiness seems to be largely determined by the person’s genetic makeup—that, in other words, some people are simply born to somewhat happier than others. The theory, in nutshell, says that people have a sort of “set point” for happiness, a genetically determined happiness level to which the person quickly tends to gravitate, no matter what failures or successes he or she experiences. So confront a high-happiness-set-point person with the prospect of a demotion or an unattractive leteral transfer, and he or she will soon return to being relatively happy once the short blip of disappointment has dissipated. On the other hand, send an inherently low-set-point, unhappy person off on a two-week vacation or give him or her a sizable raise or a new computer, and chances are he or she will soon be as unhappy as before the reward.

Like testing employees for any traits, coming up with a set of tests or interview questions to identify happier, high-set-point people requires careful consideration and probably the help of a qualified psychologist. However, the following might provide some insight into the tendency to be relatively happy:

Indicate how strongly (high, medium, low) you agree with the following statements:

“When good things happen to me, it strongly affects me.”

“I will often do things for no other reason than they might be fun.”

“When I get something I want, I feel excited and energized.”

“When I am doing well at something, I love to keep at it.”

Agreeing with more statements and agreeing with them more strongly may correlate with a higher happiness-set-point.

My Consultancy–Asif J. Mir – Management Consultant–transforms organizations where people have the freedom to be creative, a place that brings out the best in everybody–an open, fair place where people have a sense that what they do matters. For details please contact www.asifjmir.com, Line of Sight

A great life always begins with a dream—a vision. Each person has two kinds of vision: Eyesight and mindsight. Eyesight tells us what objects are around us. Eyesight forms pictures of trees, people, buildings, mountains, water, stars, and other physical, tangible things. Eyesight is physical.

Mindset is different from eyesight. Mindset is the power to see not what is but what can be when human intelligence is applied. Mindset is the power to dream. Mindset forms pictures of the future – the home we want, the family relationship we desire, the income we will enjoy, vacations we want to take, or our wealth at some point in time.

Eyesight is strictly physical and sees only reality. Mindsight reveals what is not yet real nor tangible. How we choose to use our mindset to dream determines our success (achievement, influence, and satisfaction), our wealth (income, net worth, and physical well-being), and our happiness (respect, joy, and commitment).

People differ little in eyesight. At a very early age, all children using eyesight can clearly distinguish objects, such as people, buildings, stars, and water. But people differ enormously in mindsight or mental images of what is not yet real or tangible. A great majority of people see spending a life in a mediocre, modest-paying job. In the social department, their mindsight sees little joy but lots of boredom and big problems. And in the home department, they see, at best, only an ordinary, dull, problem-plagued existence.

On the other hand, a few success-directed dreamers see the future as filled with challenge. They see work as a road to advancement and prestige, and to large rewards. Creative dreamers see social relationships as encouraging, as stimulating, and as fun. In their home department, they see excitement, adventure, and happiness. They choose to dream of a good and great life.

Whether we spend life winning or losing depends on how we use our mindsight—what we choose to see or to dream. Each of us has the power to make this life a heaven or a hell, depending on how we choose to dream about it. Those who see life as heaven are the winners; those who view life as hell are losers.

Some believe luck or chance determines their destiny. These people think that fortunes, success, and the good life depend on the roll of the dice, on the spin of a wheel, or on a randomly selected number in a gamble.

Wishing is different from dreaming. Wishing is passive and inactive. Wishing is an idle pastime with no brains or effort behind it. But dreaming is backed up with an action plan to produce results. Anyone can wish. But a dreamer takes action on what he or she wants.

You can divide people you know into two categories: The winners and losers. Winners are active dreamers working to convert their dream into positive, tangible accomplishments. Losers are inactive faultfinders who believe the system is against them and luck or fate determines what will happen. Losers are cynical. Losers are pessimists. Losers are selfish—not my job; why should I help; nobody ever did anything for me. Losers want something for nothing.

Winners are people of good will. Winners are generous. Winners know “there’s no free lunch,” “Sacrifice means investing in the future.”

People who dream big think, “Regardless of how good or bad the situation is now, it will get even better. It always does. They bank on a great future.

My Consultancy–Asif J. Mir – Management Consultant–transforms organizations where people have the freedom to be creative, a place that brings out the best in everybody–an open, fair place where people have a sense that what they do matters. For details please contact www.asifjmir.com, Line of Sight